Round refrigerator



D. A. mzoR 2,475,254

ROUND REFRIGERATOR Filed May 11, 1945 VI- l.-

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'il Patented July 5, 1949 UNITED STATES. PATENT ori-ics ROUND REFRIGERATGR Delbert A. Rizor, Fairfield, Iowa Application May 11, 1945, Serial No. 593,211

This invention relates to a round refrigerator provided with a circular body comprising a storage chamber, such chamber being divided with suitably insulated partitions to form a plurality of segmental compartments each having appropriate openings therein for access thereto.

One of the main objects of the present invention is to provide such a refrigerator wherein the circular or round body portion is adapted to be pivotally supported upon a stationary base or lfrom other supporting rmeans so that the refrigerator may be placed in a suitable wall corner and have the facility of being rotated to any one of the plurality of compartments with the door thereto in a convenient position for opening the same.

Another object of the present invention is to mount the refrigerating unit for rotation directly with the circular body and to provide appropriate operative means connected with the pivotal means for supporting the body for the purpose of transmitting suitable motive energy from ythe I stationary base portion of the refrigerator to the refrigerating unit for operating the latter.

In analogy to the above object, a modified variation of the refrigerator may be devised wherein the refrigerating unit is mounted within the stationary base and means are incorporated for transmitting the refrigerant from the stationary base through a central communicating conduit system from which such refrigerant can be introduced into the evaporating or expansion tanks and returned therefrom to the refrigerating unit.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a completely smooth surfaced refrigerator of circular construction wherein all hardware or other operating accessories are recessed to be positioned within the outer peripheral surface of the main body of the refrigerator. This permits placing the refrigerator close to the corner walls wherein such unit maybe placed and also prevents damage to such walls or eliminates catching clothing or other objects upon any of the refrigerator hardware when the same is being rotated for use by the housewife.

All other objects and advantages embodied in refrigerators of the present design shall hereinafter appear in the following detailed description thereof having reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a preferred construction of round refrigerator constructed according to the principles of the present invention;

3 Claims. (Cl. 62-89) Fig. 2 is a general side elevational view of the refrigerator illustrated in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a central vertical cross sectional view of the pivotal means employed for rotatably supporting the circular body of the refrigerator upon a supporting base or pedestal, such view being substantially taken along the lines 3-3 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a modified construction of refrigerator wherein the refrigerating unit is mounted in fixed position upon the base; and

Fig. 5 is a detailed cross sectional view of some of the operating mechanism employed in the Fig. 4 construction.

The preferred construction of refrigerator has been illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 and comprises a round refrigerator formed with a circular body 5,

a supporting base 1, such base carrying a pedestal bearing 8 upon which the body 6 is rotatably mounted for axial rotation about the vertical center line of the refrigerator.

The body 6 is insulated in the usual-fashion and is divided by means of baffle members 9, I0, and II, se'e Fig. 1, such bailies or dividers also being insulated, and functioning to divide the body E into three segmental compartments I2, I3, and I4 respectively.v Each of the compartments I2, I3, and I4 are provided with doors I5, I6, and I'I for access tothe respective compartments, such doors being each provided by recessed handle locks IB and recessed hinges I9, all such hardware being set into and within the confines of the outer peripheral contour of the body B as illustrated in Fig. 1. This provides a box of circular contour having no projections whatever and such box may be placed immediately adjacent the walls of a corner of a room thus eliminating any damage caused by projecting parts from a rotatable unit of the kind designed and disclosed.

The vertical lengths of the segmental compartments described terminate in spaced relation to the bottom of the round refrigerator body to form a compartment 20 for housing a refrigerating unit 2| of any conventional type. Ihe unit 2I herein shown is preferably of the power operated type having an electrical motor for operating the compressor that acts upon the refrigerant in a known manner to supply the refrigerant for cooling the segmental compartments of the refrigerator.

The refrigerating system is diagrammatically illustrated in Figs. l and 2 and comprises chiefly a refrigerant return pipe or tube 22 connecting with the refrigerating unit 2I and terminating in a suitable manifold 23. From the manifold 23,

the refrigerant is led radially through connecting tubes such as 24, 25, and 26 to appropriate expansion valves 21, 28, and 29 respectively. The aforementioned expansion valves 21, 28, and 28 connect with expansion units 30, 3| and 32 respectively which are located in the respective segmental compartments as shown for cooling the latter; the valves having been calibrated and set for cooling such compartments to various temperatures for different storage purposes.

Suitable supply tubes 33 shown in Fig. 2 are connected with a second manifold 34 arranged for communication with a return tube 35 leading to the usual condensing system 2|c of the refrigerating unit 2| As stated before, this system may be utilized through various controls such as expansion valves for maintaining the various compartments at different temperatures. For example, the compartment I2 might be maintained at a temperature of to -10 F. for deep freeze purposes; the compartment i3 can be maintained at the temperature of to 34 F.; while the compartment i4 may be used under a moist temperature arrangement operating from to 42 F.

The rotatably mounted body 6 carrying the refrigerating unit requires a means for conducting power or any form of motive energy to the refrigerating unit. The refrigerating unit 2| in the present application is electrically driven and therefore requires proper conduit means for supplying the same with electrical energy, and such a means is clearly illustrated in Fig. 3 as associated with the pivotal mounting 8 supported upon the pedestal 1 for carrying the refrigerator body 6. The power `transmission means is indicated generally at 36 and is housed Within the column 31 having a thrust bearing ring 33 resting upon the upper surfaces of the bearing bushing 39 connected with the pedestal member 8. The entire refrigerator structure and the various shelves in the compartments are all supported from the column 31, such column also forming a suitable hollow housing for the tubes or pipes 22 and 35 of the refrigerating system as Well as the manfolds 23 and 34 at the upper end of the refrigerator box. Suitable openings such as 40 are provided in the column 31 for the passage of the various pipes into and out of the same.

Referring to Fig. 3, the stationary power transmitting member 36 comprises a tubular standard 4| connected by threaded nut means 42 with the upper web 43 of the pedestal 1. The upper end of the column 4| is provided with a head 44 also of hollow construction, this head being provided with slip rings 45 and 46 separated and insulated from each other by the annular ringsv 41. A double Wire cable 48 leads from an adapter 49, see Fig. 2, through the column 4| and one of the wires is connected with the ring 45 while the other wire is connected with the ring 46.

Column 31 also carries suitable wipers 50 and 5| in insulated bushings which take current from the rings 45 and 46 respectively at any radial position of the column 31 with respect to the column 4|. Connected wires 52 and 53 lead from the wipers 50 and 5| through the cable 54 shown in Fig. 2 to the motor in the refrigerating unit 2|.

Therefore, any form of connection plug such as connected to the adapter 49 in Fig. 2 will supply current through a stationary source of power take-olf comprising the central column unit 36 illustrated in Fig. 3 to a rotatable source comprising the columns 31 and its connected the base 1 and supplies the refrigerant to the expansion units through an appropriately designed gland unit 58 mounted upon the pedestal 1 at the axial center line of the refrigerator. As best shown in Fig. 5, the gland 59 comprises two sealed manifolds 60 and 6|. The manifold 6|| is connected by a pipe 62 with the compressor 2| for receiving the gaseous refrigerant return while the manifold 6| is connected by pipe 83 with the condenser 2|c for feeding the refrigerant to the evaporator.

The body of the refrigerator supports a pair of concentric tubes 64 and 65 which communicate respectively with the manifolds 60 and 8| through appropriate stuffing boxes or other gland structures which function to seal oif the escape of any of the refrigerating fluid while permitting rotation of the tubes 64 and 65 about the axial center line of the gland unit 59. Obviously, the tubes 64 and 65 provide the supply and return means of the refrigerating system which lead to tank units or other coil means for absorbing the heat of the various compartments supplied in the rel'frigerating body of the circular construction i1- lustrated.

With the refrigerating unit stationarily supported as shown in Fig. 4, any suitable plug-in adapter such as 66 may be used for supplying l(the use of a rotatably supported refrigerator "body divided into compartments of different selected cooled temperatures, any one of which is accessible through its corresponding door by revolving the refrigerator to expose such a door to the user.

Other modifications and changes are contemplated in the constructions illustrated and such shall be carried out as governed by the purview and scope of the language of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A refrigerator comprising a food storage body unit, a base unit for said body, refrigerating mechanism connected with one of said units, refrigerant supply means connected with said refrigerating mechanism and arranged to cool said body unit, and pivotal means interposed between said units to support said body unit for rotation relative to said base unit comprising hollow coacting bearing members extending between said units, at least one of said hollow bearing members providing a housing for said refrigerant supply means.

2. A refrigerator comprising a storage compartment, a base, a refrigerating mechanism to cool said compartment, and pivotal means connected between said compartment and said base to allow relative rotation between said compartment and base, said pivotal means comprising interacting hollow members to guide said compartment for rotation with respect to said base, and conduit i ing mechanism with said compartment to cool the latter.

members and arranged to connect said refrigeratrotation with respect to said base, and conduit' 919,030 means housed within said interacting hollow 964,900 members and arranged to connect said refrigerat- 1,333,961

ing mechanism in said compartment to cool the 2,030,730 latter, and energy transmitting means disposed 15 2,073,612

with said hollow members and adapted for operating said refrigerating mechanism.

DEIBERT A. Razon.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ille of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Kroenke Apr. 20, 1909 Conroy July 19, 1910 Kosmerl Oct. 25, 1932 Bicknell Feb. 11, 1936 Shisler Apr. 27, 1937 

